Dad was imprisoned by the communists, brother died while fleeing across the border
Irena Zemanová was born on 22 August 1938. She grew up in a medical family. Her father had an office in Brno. She came from a religious family that joined Christian congregations, which the communist regime banned after 1948. Her father was arrested in the mid-1950s and imprisoned for about half a year for keeping contact with members of the church. Brother Jan tried to cross the border in 1956 but tragically died during the escape. Despite the ban of the communist regime, Irena Zemanová socialized with people from the Christian congregations and later educated the youth. At the time of normalization, she decided to become a foster carer. She raised four children, with whom she remained in close contact even during their adulthood. In 2022, she lived in Brno.